Burdened Onus
by Fareway19
Summary: With the Meatheads visiting to continue their alliance with Berk, Hiccup is tasked to keep the dragons under control as well as keep Snotlout and the twins busy and out of trouble. Hiccup's "way with the beasts" is seen by the visitors and their interest in Stoick's son is sparked.
1. Tasked

**A.N.**

**This idea came from a combination of watching ****_Twinsanity_**** and remembering a quote from Hiccup in ****_We Are A Family part 1_****. **

**Takes place after ****_Escape_****. You do not need to read the last story to understand what's going on.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

**Burdened Onus**

**Chapter 1**

**Tasked**

* * *

Night had fallen on Berk, its residence already full in their stomachs as the last of them exited the Great Hall. With a couple good-nights and kisses of sweet dreams, the villagers huddled in their warm homes or cozy beds. Few were still out in the night however, Mulch and Bucket herding the last of the sheep into the barn, some shop owners just now closing up, guards standing at their posts, and the two blacksmiths at the forge tinkering with their projects.

Hiccup mumbled to himself while focused on working out some bugs in his design; Toothless sleeping my his feet, his tail curled up close to his head. Gobber was sharpening one of his many daggers, Bertha as he liked to call this particular one. The last of the sparks flew off of the grinder and the wheel ceased its spinning. Gobber held up his dagger, fully satisfied with his work.

"There we go, good as new." Hiccup didn't remove his eyes from his project, but he still listened in on what his old mentor was saying. "I'll have to remember to not bash you against rocks when trying to kill some fireworms." Hiccup chuckled, lifting his right hand to his mouth to hide his grin on his face. He placed it back down when he got control.

"Is something funny?" Gobber asked, turning around from where he was standing and eyed the young viking.

"No, no, nothing's funny." That goofy smile came back on his face.

"Alright then, what are you working on?" Gobber asked, approaching Hiccup and examining his project.

"It's just a prototype." Hiccup answered while leaning back in his chair.

"Looks like a shield." Gobber said, not really getting its purpose or function.

"I-It's more than a shield. I'd show you, but I've got to work out some bugs."

Stoick walked through the streets, waving hello to some passersby before coming to his destination—the forge. Once he stepped in, Gobber greeted him with a smile and a wave of his prosthetic blacksmiths hammer.

"Well hello, Stoick. What brings you here; if its for Hiccup, he's almost done... at least I think he's almost done." Hiccup lifted his eyes up from where they were glued at the table and turned his head over to his father. Getting up off the chair, he walked over to him.

"Not exactly. I came by to inform you two of the visit we're going to have tomorrow with the Meatheads' chief and his wife. Normal peace-treaty signage is all." Stoick announced.

"There's not gonna be much trouble this time, the Meatheads are far better allies then those Berserkers." Gobber commented.

"Oh, please tell me we don't have to hide the dragons again." Hiccup asked his father.

"No, the Meatheads are more sensible people. They understand that the dragons are like family here. But just because your dragons are trained, that doesn't mean they are well behaved." Toothless lifted his head up.

"You can say that again. I tried to remove a tooth from a Zippleback the other day, and he sprayed me with its gas! I was tripping the rest of the evening." Gobber remembered.

"My point is, just keep your eye on them." Stoick took over again.

"Make sure they don't get into trouble, got it." Hiccup replied, smiling while he nodded.

"And," Stoick continued, "I want you to keep Snotlout and the twins busy as well."

"Whoa-what, Snotlout and the twins? Why?"

"They're troublemakers, son. They're just as bad if not worse then the dragons."

"No I mean, why do _I_ have to watch them?"

"Because they are _your_ friends and you've been doing a good job with keeping them busy, what with the whole dragon training sessions." Stoick tried to reason.

"But I don't have a dragon training session to do tomorrow."

"Well then, try to come up with something else; just keep them busy and out of the village for tomorrow."

Hiccup sighed, but excepted the challenge. "Alright; you won't see them at all tomorrow."

"Good, I'm counting on you." Hiccup smiled, knowing that his father still had trust in him made him feel better about himself. "Now, its getting pretty late, I want you home soon."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he gets there in one piece." Gobber joked, earning a confused and curious look from Hiccup. Stoick just shook his head and headed home.

Later that night, close to midnight to be exact, Hiccup sat at his desk, taking another shot at drawing Toothless sleeping. He moved his wrist around, getting the curves and details. He had hoped that Trader Johann would come by again soon so he trade for some more ink wells. He liked using his feather pen, though he had no hatred towards his charcoal pencil, he found it easier to get a more fine line.

His mind ventured off to the task he was given earlier. What on earth was he going to do to keep Snotlout and the twins busy for an entire day? His hand motions stopped as a thought came to him. He thought back to the time when Snotlout found that hidden treasure map behind the Hammish's portrait. All three of them were practically obsessed with finding the gold, well, Snotlout more then Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"A scavenger hunt! That'll keep them busy for more than two days!" Toothless lifted his head up, tired eye lids half open. Hiccup left his drawing and began to make a list of the things he hide tomorrow morning for the three morons to find. With inspiration working its magic, Hiccup didn't stop until all of his ideas were written on paper. Once done, he set down his charcoal pencil and venture over to his bed.

He tucked himself in, the candle on his bed stand illuminating a soft golden glow throughout the room. He smiled as he closed his eyes and let himself drift away from the world.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**I didn't state this at the top author's note, but this story is sort of like a breather from my other suspense stories. Kind of like Thawfest was for the whole Heather incident.**

**I thank anyone who chooses to review and I'll see ya in the next chapter!**


	2. Fair Greetings

**A.N.**

**Agdoll 95, onus is just a synonym for responsibility, meaning -used to refer to something that is one's duty or responsibility**

**You guys are going to love the first part of the scavenger hunt, I was laughing when coming up with it.**

**Thanks for all the reviews! And apologies for any typos that I missed.**

**HEADS UP: This story sort of starts my 'season 2' where most of my facts and events are cannon with the show. The past events from my stories did happen, but I won't be mentioning them. I'm trying my hand at it a little early.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

**Burdened Onus**

**Chapter 2**

**Fair Greetings**

* * *

It was mid morning when Hiccup and Toothless met up with his friends at Berk's Dragon Academy. The black Night Fury dove down, under and through the open gate, and landing in the middle of the Academy. Hiccup jumped off and causally walked up to his friends with five separate pieces of paper. The teens were busing themselves with their dragons, giving their attention to Hiccup when he addressed himself.

"Alright guys, I have big plans for you today." Hiccup began; he paused as Fishlegs raised his hand and looked eager to speak.

"Yes, Fishlegs." Hiccup allowed him to speak his mind.

"Is today the day when we practice our reaction skills through the trees? Me and Meatlug have some new skills we want to try out."

"No, actually, but we can do that later on this week." Hiccup walked over to him and handed him a piece of tan paper. "What I have planned for today will knock your socks off." He handed one piece to Astrid, then Snotlout and lastly the twins.

"What if we're not wearing socks?" Ruffnut whispered to her brother. He shrugged his shoulders, then took the piece of paper from Hiccup's hand.

"What's this?" Snotlout asked, pointing to the paper, not at all pleased.

"That is a list of items you all need to find. Your going on a scavenger hunt." Hiccup informed.

"Scavenger hunt? That's lame, if you're trying to spike my interest, you're failing." Snotlout criticized while walking over to Hookfang to jump onto his saddle.

"Oh, but it will spike your interest because if you find all five items on that list, you get the treasure." Hiccup answered with a victorious smirk.

Snotlout immediately stopped his actions and turned around, "Treasure!" The others showed their sudden interest much the same way.

"Whoa,"

"Really?!"

"Cool,"

"You mean there's actually treasure at the end of this?" Astrid questioned, slightly doubtful but more intrigued.

Hiccup motioned for her and Fishlegs to come closer. He lead them off away from the other three and whispered to them, "Look, my dad wanted me to find a way to keep Snotlout and the twins busy so they won't cause trouble when the Meatheads come. I came up with this idea last night and I'm positive that it'll work. I just need you guys to keep watch of them."

"Wait, you're handing the responsibility over to us?" Astird asked.

Hiccup was interrupted to answer when Snotlout and the twins began to argue in the background, completely unaware of their private conversation.

"I'm finding the items first and I'm getting that treasure!"

"Not uh, the treasure's mine!" Tuffnut argued.

"No its not, it's mine!" Ruffnut joined in.

Hiccup shook his head, but continued to what he was going to say.

"My dad wants me to also keep the dragons under control. Since I can't be in two places at once, I was hoping you guys would except this job."

"No problem," Astrid replied, understanding where Hiccup was coming from.

"Yeah, we'll do it." Fishlegs agreed.

"Thanks guys." Hiccup smiled at them and they walked back to the other three. Hiccup stopped their fighting when he clapped his hands to get their attention again.

"Alright, the hunt starts now, take your time, no need to rush—"

"No need? This is treasure we're talking about, and its mine." Snotlout said while rolling up his list and brought it up to his eye like a telescope. He pointed it at the entrance gate.

"Onward Hookfang!" He screamed while pointing forward. Hookfang roared and soared out of the Academy. The twins quickly got on their Zippleback and chased after him. Astrid and Fishlegs jumped onto their dragons.

"Good luck with the meeting, hope it goes well." Astrid stated with a smile.

"Hopefully a lot better than the Berserkers." Fishlegs commented.

"Thanks, good luck to you too, you're really going to need it." Hiccup replied with an equal smile to Astrid's.

"We got this covered." And with that, both flew out of the Academy and after their friends.

Hiccup jumped on his saddle and latched his prosthetic onto the stirrup.

"Come on bud, we got a tour to join." he said while patting Toothless' head. The two of them soared out into the sky, their destination, the docks.

* * *

Stoick and Gobber stood on the docks watching the Meathead ship pull up and port. Only one ship came, unlike the Berserkers, due to history of friendship and deep trust for one another. Stoick had been friends with the Meatheads chief since he had become chief. Their lands were like sisters, the only difference now, well, Berk had trained dragons and the Meatheads didn't.

The plank came up and landed onto the dock, giving the boat's passengers a bridge. The Meatheads' chief arose from the ship and stood in front of Stoick and Gobber.

"Stoick, Gobber, I haven't seen you fellas in a _long_ time!" the chief greeted happily.

"It's been too long, Gravus, too long." Stoick replied with a friendly smile. Gravus turned around and gently grabbed a hold of another hand. His wife stepping up and out of the boat.

"Vamiera, you look just as beautiful as I last saw ya." Gobber complemented.

"Oh, Gobber, you flatter me." She replied, knowing very well it was to irritate her husband, which was working. That Gobber.

Gravus inhaled deeply and looked upon Berk's beauty.

"It's good to be back on Berk, it's always nice and sunny here." He stated with a small amount of curiosity.

"Its good to have you, friend. Now if we can start the tour—" Stoick was interrupted by a roar from the sky. All four looked up and saw Toothless and Hiccup land on the docks. Hiccup jumped off and Toothless trotted up to Gravus and Vamiera rather quickly. Just at his presence, both Meatheads gasped and back off, Gravus reaching over to his sword.

"No, no, no, its okay; Toothless just gets over excited with newcomers." Hiccup reasoned while standing in front of Toothless and pushing him back.

"Stoick, I heard _rumors_ that you had trained dragons, but..." Gravus stated, his hand still on his sword, but it remained unsheathed.

"It's a _Night Fury_! And you were riding him!" Vamiera exclaimed, pointing to Hiccup.

"He won't harm you, I promise." Hiccup replied, ceasing his pushing and held out the palm of his hand to Toothless. Toothless settled down and cooed when he nudged Hiccup's hand away and rubbed his head against his rider's torso, earning a giggle from Hiccup.

Gravus let go of his sword's handle and dropped his hands to his side. His wife relaxed a little, looking at Hiccup with amazement.

"Go on, pet him." Stoick offered. Vamiera looked at him, then her husband. He too looked a little on edge, but both of them slowly approached Toothless. Hiccup took Gravus' and brought it out for Toothless. Said dragon cooed again when his head connected with Gravus' palm. Vamiera saw nothing bad happening and went beside her husband, reaching her hand out too, she began petting Toothless. Toothless licked her, earning a giggle and closed his eyes while smiling his toothless smile.

"All of your dragons here on Berk are trained?" she asked.

"Well, most of 'em." Gobber replied.

"And _you_ trained them?" She asked, gesturing towards Hiccup.

"Well..." Hiccup couldn't really finish his sentence, feeling a bit in the spot light.

"My son is head trainer of Berk's Dragon Academy. He's also our best rider." Stoick informed them, boasting about it then anything else.

"Dragon Academy?" Gravus asked, fairly amused.

"It's our old killing arena." Gobber answered.

"Well I think its about time we start this tour; feast at the Great Hall and go check out that Dragon Academy of yours." Gravus announced, peering over at Hiccup with the last part. Hiccup smiled.

"Will you be joining us, Hiccup?" Vamiera asked, letting go of Toothless and standing beside her husband.

"Of course, ma'am." He replied.

"Right this way," Stoick gestured, letting Vamiera go first then Gravus. Hiccup followed his father with Toothless by his side. The group ventured away from the docks and up the ramps to the village of Berk.

* * *

All five teens and dragons flew though the air; Astrid looked down at the list and read out loud the first item they needed to find.

"Okay, it says here we need to find a flying Viking Totem...?" The others were just as confused as she was. "How can a totem fly?"

"Maybe it doesn't mean particularly flying, but it seems like it's flying, like its hanging off of something." Fishlegs inquired.

"You mean like a tree?" Tuffnut asked.

"Or a rock?" Ruffnut asked as well.

"Or a cliff!" Astrid concluded, smiling as she helped figure it out.

"You mean like those?" Snotlout gestured down at the rocky cliffs ahead of them. He laughed with greed and dove down to its base. Hookfang landed on the grass, he and his rider looking up at the top of the cliff. The others landed beside them and peered up as well.

Tied to a string and dangling from a jagged rock, a wooden Viking Totem hung high above their heads.

"Pssh, this will be a piece of cake." Snotlout was about to have Hookfang take off, but Astrid stopped them.

"Wait Snotlout, it says here you can't use flight."

"And Hiccup thinks that's gonna stop me? We'll just climb up the edge, come on Hookfang." Hookfang began his ascend up the rocky cliff; his large talons acting as excellent footholds. Once the two got to the top, Hookfang jerked his head outward so his rider could grab the totem. Snotlout reached out, his grasp just inches away from the prize.

"Err, come on you stupid thing." he said, stretching his arm as far as he could. He began to scoot off of his saddle and soon enough... he fell. He tumbled down, hitting his head against the rocks at least nine times.

"Ow...

Ow...

Oww...

Ooowwww...

Ow...

OW...

Ooww...

Ow...

OOOWWW...!"

He landed on the ground with a thud, face first. The totem fell down from its height and bounced off of his metal helmet, making a clanking sound.

"Got it..." he said while lifting up a weak hand. Astrid burst out laughing.

"I'm loving this scavenger hunt already!"

* * *

**To be continued...**

**Please remember, the Meatheads names are not cannon**

**Thank you for reading!**


	3. Jeweled Pendant

**A.N.**

**Thank you sooo much for all of the reviews guys! I love seeing at least 10 reviews for each chapter. Shows me I'm doing a good job! Sorry again for any typos.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

**Burdened Onus**

**Chapter 3**

**Jeweled Pendant**

* * *

Stoick, Gobber and Hiccup lead their guests up from the docks and into the streets. Stoick didn't have to show Gravus and Vamiera too much for they've already seen it all, well, most anyway. The group was approaching the forge, a place were Gobber and Hiccup felt right at home.

"And this is our forge, its primary use has been altered as a dentist for the dragons, but Gobber and Hiccup still use its original purpose to good use." Stoick announced.

"We create all sorts of gadgets in this old building. In fact, its where Hiccup here built that slingy-thing that shot down Toothless." Gravus and Vamiera looked over at Hiccup and Toothless. Toothless gurgled from the memory.

"Yep, never used it since." Hiccup replied, folding his hands back behind him.

"We also created the dragon's saddles, as well as Toothless' stirrup, connecting rod, and all the other parts needed for him to fly." Gobber continued.

"Are you the only one who's able to fly him?" Vameira asked.

"Well, I did modify a pedal for my dad to use when he was first learning how to fly." Hiccup replied, smiling as he saw his dad put a hand to his forehead and shake his head.

"Wait, does that mean _you_ have a trained dragon too?" Gravus asked, pointing at Stoick.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Come, I'll introduce you to him." Stoick said while waving his hand for his guests to follow.

Up at the Haddock household, Thornado rested under his little shelter. He opened his small, beady eyes when he sensed someone coming. When he saw his rider and chief, he smiled and stood up, coming out from under his little house and walked up to Stoick. Gravus and Vamiera gasped at the beauty of the Thunderdrum, but mostly at the fact that they _trained_ a Thunderdrum.

"This is Thornado; he has the roar of Thor himself." Stoick introduced with a smile. As if on cue, Thornado aimed up into the sky and roared his sonic boom. The two Meatheads covered their ears, Gobber and Hiccup just flinched backwards, more use to the roar then the guests.

"Haha, that's my dragon warrior!" Stoick exclaimed with delight before petting Thornado.

"I can't believe you were able to train a _Thunderdrum_." Gravus spoke up.

"It wasn't easy." Hiccup mumbled, but it was clearly made to be loud enough for every one to hear.

"Nah, we were communicating." Stoick commented.

"You kept punching him in the face, that's not communication, Dad." Hiccup replied casually, folding his arms together in front of his chest.

"We got along eventually."

_Eventually..._ Hiccup thought jokingly to himself.

"How did you even get to him?" Vamiera asked, fully intrigued.

"He was attacking our fishing boats, and when Stoick and Hiccup went to take care of it, they ran into him." Gobber informed.

"He was just gathering food for his wounded friend. His intentions weren't meant to be devastating; as is with the case of all the other dragons. They actually have instincts to protect us." Hiccup stated; his knowledge and understanding of this new side to the dragons fascinated Gravus and Vamiera. It wasn't every day you heard of a boy who was an embarrassment to both his father and tribe turn out to be a great hero that can offer the world so much.

They wanted to ask more questions, but the tour had to continue, and the feast at the Great Hall was next on the list.

* * *

"Okay, this is the location of the next item." Astrid said, dropping the paper down from her view. They were riding their dragons, but allowed them to walk instead of fly as to not tire them out. That, and the location of the next item wasn't too far away from the first.

"How do you know this is it; for all we know it could be that way," Snotlout said while pointing straight ahead. "Or that way." He pointed behind them.

"Or that way." the twins said in unison, both pointing in opposite directions.

"I know because it says so on the piece of paper." Astrid replied with annoyance, holding up her list and pointing at it.

Tuffnut tried to read his, face contorted in concentration. He hummed, thinking on its meaning, then gave up.

"Nope, don't get it."

Astrid sighed, "It says, 'Look to where a fear rose when the ground fell.'"

"A feather?" Ruffnut asked in confusion.

"Does he want us to find a bird?" Tuffnut added.

"What kind?" Ruffnut asked again, looking at her brother.

"Does it have to be alive?" Snotlout asked, leaning his elbows against Hookfang's horns.

"Its not a bird! It's Hiccup's feather pen, remember he found it when we followed the Hammish's treasure map?" Astrid complained at their incompetence.

"That's right, so he want's us to look in the sink hole." Fishlegs concluded; Astrid nodded.

"Oh, yeah, I remember that. He chose a stupid feather over the mounds and mounds of gold." Snotlout retained.

"Knowledge is powerful Snotlout. Hiccup is a perfect example of its successes and you are a perfect example of what it means to be all bronze and no brains." Astrid criticized.

"I can't argue with that, without the book of dragons we wouldn't have gotten as far as we did in dragon training." Fishlegs added.

"Erg, all of this discussion of knowledge is giving me a headache." Tuffnut complained, holding his fingers up to his temples.

"Can we just get this item already?" Ruffnut asked, the discussion getting to her too.

They continued forward, passing the ruins of what was the original entance of the Hammish's treasure map and came up to their targeted sight. Venturing over, the dragons stopped right at the edge of the sink hole. The teens jumped off of their dragons and slid down the slope. Looking around, they saw nothing but dirt.

"Ah great, don't tell me we have to dig." Snotlout complained. Astrid glared at him, but turned her attention to the ground when a red flash caught her eye. In a certain angle from the sun, a small object was glittering red, most of its body being buried just a layer under the dirt. Astrid walked over, knelt down and wiped away the soil; her eyes gleamed and her mouth dropped open as she gasped. In her hand was a ruby encrusted jewel, a pendant. A half ball filled with a small ruby, chained on top of a red painted, silver-metal rose which was then chained to the roses silver-metal stem with two leaves. Each leaf had a small ruby in the middle. The hanging jewel was about the size of her palm.

Astrid smiled, "It's beautiful..." she brought the jewel close to her chest and closed her eyes.

_Thanks Hiccup..._ she thought to herself, knowing by heart that it was meant for her.

* * *

**To be continued...**

**I actually do have this jewel, just found it. I was snooping through my roommate's desk area—shh, don't tell her—and randomly came across it. At first it looked like an ear ring, and I always like checking out ear rings because there are so many designs and beautiful colors, but it wasn't and really attracted my attention. So I thought, why not use this as one of the items on the list! Perfect! I don't have my ears pierced, but I did always love looking through my mom's collection. Sparkling gems interest me! Even if they're fake.**


	4. Bookworm

**A.N.**

**Sorry this took longer to post, my brain went on vacation for the majority of the day.**

**I do have some possible stories that will be posted after this one, yes I said ****_stories_****. There is a very good chance that they will be one-shots, but they'll be at least 2,000 words or greater. My average story length is about 1,400-1,500 words. Possible titles:**

**Hunt And Destroy**

**Search And Rescue**

**Acquire And Create**

***This may very well change***

**If you guys want to read my original idea I had for ****_Gumshoe_****, I can do that for a really big one-shot. That's probably going to be my next story.**

**Thank you for all of the reviews! I love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

**Burdened Onus**

**Chapter 4**

**Bookworm**

* * *

_Alright, this is good; everyone's fine, barely any dragon problems, the Meatheads are going to head back home shortly after we're done here... this was so much easier than Dagur's "visit"._

Hiccup thought to himself as he ate his cooked cod. He was sitting next to his father, who was sitting next to Gobber, who sat next to Gravus and Vamiera. A few other random vikings were sitting at the table with them, but no one really cares who they are.

Stoick, Gobber, Gravus and Vamiera were chatting up a storm while Hiccup just daydreamed; mostly thinking about his friends and the scavenger hunt he sent them on.

_I wonder how far they got? Shouldn't be too long now before they figure out that the paper says nothing about a location for the final treasure, even though there isn't really any. Oh I wonder what Snotlout will think when he finds out I tricked him. He'll probably come storming back and threaten to punch me in the face, or skip the threats and just punch me in the face. And if he does, then he'll get a severe punishment from my father because it was my specific duty to keep them busy and out of the village. Haha, I'd love to see his face when __**that**__ happens!_

"...Isn't that right Hiccup?" Stoick asked, the majority of the question and/or conversation completely lost to Hiccup.

"Huh?" Hiccup replied absentmindedly, looking toward his father. Gobber smiled and shook his head.

"The dragons; we were discussing how they only eat fish." Stoick refreshed.

"Which is strange seeing how during our raids they took all of food, especially the livestock." Gravus recalled.

"Yes, dragons eat mainly fish, on occasion some bread and other sorts, but they only hunted the livestock because of the Red Death. If they didn't get food for it, then they themselves would _be_ food." Hiccup explained.

"We've heard rumors that you defeated the Red Death all on you own, is it true?" Vamiera asked.

"Half, I didn't do it on my own." Hiccup glanced down at Toothless and smiled; Toothless smiled back and wag his tail a little.

* * *

"'Sight can lead you astray, for this puzzle has no way.'" Astrid read the text, looking at the others with utter confusion.

Snotlout moaned and held his head; "I knew he would get into these riddles."

"Hiccup always speaks in riddles." Ruffnut complemented.

"Sight can lead you astray... for this puzzle has no way..." Fishlegs mumbled to himself while contemplating over the clue.

"Do you have something, Fishlegs?" Astrid asked, noticing her friend's puzzled expression.

"Maybe... follow me." He and Meatlug flew ahead of the others. Snotlout, Astrid, Ruff and Tuff just looked at each other before their dragons picked up some speed and caught up with their comrade. Meatlug flew down and landed near a giant bolder that was lodged into the ground. There were numerous boulders like these throughout Berk.

"Hey, isn't this where we ran into that Whispering Death?" Ruffnut asked, recalling those events.

"Yeah, it is." Astrid answered, remembering as well.

"So wait, Hiccup wants us to go down in the whole that was dug out from that Whispering Death?" Snotlout said thinking his cousin to be insane.

"I think so, it was the only thing that I could match with the riddle. 'Sight can lead you astray, for this puzzle has no way.' The Whispering Death's tunnels were like a giant puzzle and it was really dark when me and Hiccup went down there. Which is strange, because then that means only I could have figured out this clue and retrieve the item." Fishlegs explained.

"Then go get it." Astrid stated.

"Huh?"

"It's clear this item was meant for you, go down and get it."

Fishlegs hesitated for a bit, but eventually made up his mind and patted Meatlug on the head. She removed the boulder and the two hovered down into the dark depths.

"Fun, happy place... fun, happy place... fun, happy place... " Fishlegs chanted while they descended further down. It really wasn't that far down, but to Fishlegs, it was like a ravine. Once Meatlug touched down onto the soft dirt, Fishlegs slid off of her saddle and gulped. He walked forward and squinted his eyes, trying to see where this item would be, but it was really dark."

_...This puzzle has no way... does he mean that it's at a dead end?_ Fishlegs remembered the sheep they encountered that scared him half to death when it jumped out of that little cubbyhole.

"Hmmm," he looked to his right, the small aperture was filled with nothing but darkness. He bit his lip and reached a shaking hand inside. He shut his eyes tight and felt around. He opened one eye when his hand came upon something, opening both of them once he pulled out the item in his hand. He gasped and a smile appeared on his feature. Although it was kind of hard to read, he could make out those familiar words.

"Hey, this is a second edition of my botany book!" He and Meatlug ventured back over to the entrance and Fishlegs hopped onto the saddle.

"Wow, I thought I was in danger there for a second." Fishlegs breathed out a sigh of relief as the two flew back up into the daylight.

Astrid and the others watched as Fishlegs came up out of the hole with something in his hands. Hookfang made his way over and replaced the boulder once Meatlug was out of the way.

"So wha 'jya get?" Astrid asked, seeing how Fishlegs was smiling told her it was something good.

"A second edition of my botany book." He answered proudly, holding up said book for the others to see. Tuff and Ruff moaned and shrunk away.

"Eww, words!" Tuff commented while putting his hands in front of him to block the sight.

"Yup, that was definitely meant for Fishlegs." Snotlout stated nonchalantly.

Astrid just smiled, now getting what this little 'scavenger hunt' really was.

**To be continued...**

**I have no idea how long this story is going to be. Maybe close to 10 chapters, probably less than that though.**

**Thanks again for the reviews!**


	5. Hope And Heir

**A.N.**

**I believe I've posted this in a reply to someone, but for the whole Alvin thing I just left that in the open mainly because I wanted Defenders of Berk or any of the future seasons to answer it; not just for you guys, but for me too. I really don't want to make an ending, I want to watch the ending, I want to be as excited, I want to imagine what it'll be like before discovering, I want to be amazed by someone else's work. I love writing these stories, but I also love to view another's just as much.**

**Agdoll95, honestly the best advice I could give you is to just ignore the guy. Don't reply, it often leads to more issues; erase the review—out of sight, out of mind. I've never had this problem on my site, (!thank you guys!) but every one is entitled to their own opinions, and not every one will enjoy or like some story ideas or concepts. I'm sorry for what happened, I hope it doesn't discourage you from continuing in your writing. Hope this helped :)**

**Attention****: I already have the outline down for my next story; its a one-shot, but its going to be about the length of 2 or 3 chapters—a good read I must say. Its titled ****_Anonymity_****and is the original idea I had for Gumshoe before I changed it. Be on the look out for it once I'm done with this story.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

**Burdened Onus**

**Chapter 5**

**Hope And Heir**

* * *

"Well Stoick, I must say, that was quite a feast you had for us." Gravus complimented, holding his already enlarged belly. The group was walking down the stairs, beginning to rap up the tour. It was late in the afternoon, an ideal time to leave would be before sundown, so the guests still had a few hours left.

Stoick wrapped his arm around Gravus' shoulder, "Nothings too good for a friend." he said with a friendly smile.

Hiccup and Toothless opened the doors, just now coming out of the Great Hall after they helped clean up the plates. He made his way down the steps, his prosthetic making a small clicking noise each time his weight was pushed down on it. When he caught up with his father and Gobber, he only heard a fraction of what they were talking about. Not really interested, he ventured past them and walked down the streets. He passed a few shops, some selling tools like fishing nets and rods, others selling some foods like freshly hunted meat or caught fish. None interested him though, mainly because he just ate and wasn't in to any hunting activities. He figured he'd head on over to the Dragon Academy, meet up with his friends when they get back, which should be soon.

However, while he was walking past the houses and shops, the barn located in town was having a bit of a problem. Two men were struggling with a latch and seemed to push all of their weight on the doors. Suddenly the doors burst open and a whole herd of boars ran out. The two men ducked and covered, yelling for any one to hear to get out of the way.

The boars squealed as they ran, coming up to a Monstrous Nightmare and scaring it half to death. The Nightmare roared and caught itself on fire, blasting a fire ball right towards Hiccup. He turned, seeing it just in time to dive down in the dirt. The blaze flew past him and hit the house that was behind Hiccup, the fire now starting to spread. Its residence ran out of the house.

Hiccup shook his head, and lifted himself up to lean on his elbows. He looked at the now burning house and then down at the dirt.

_Well that went south quick..._ he thought. He was just about to move to get up when he heard a squeal. Turning his head towards the right, the direction where the Nightmare shot the fire bolt at him, and saw an enraged boar running towards him. His eyes widened and he rolled onto his back to get up. Just before the boar used its tusks to skin Hiccup, Toothless jumped in the way and whipped his tail around, hitting and knocking the boar away.

Hiccup, still on his back, looked at Toothless with thanks and relief.

"Thank you so much, Toothless." He said with much appreciation, getting up off the ground and hugging his best friend's head. Toothless smiled his toothless smile, before detracting his teeth when he saw three boars steadily make their way over; their presence threatening.

Toothless breathed in and fire two plasma shots at them, knocking two over and scaring the third away. Hiccup then climbed onto Toothless' saddle and hooked his prosthetic in with the stirrup.

"Hiccup!" It was Hiccup's father, he and the others were running up to him, confusion on their faces. "What happened?!" One minute Stoick was talking to his old time friend and the next the village is in chaos.

"The boars got loose, I'm gonna go round them back up." He said before he and Toothless shot up into the sky. Gravus and Vameira backed up a little, watching him with amazement as they ascended and flew off out of view.

"We have to get this fire out!" Stoick commanded, looking at Gobber and pointing to the burning building beside him. Gobber nodded and headed off to who knows where. "Some one grab some buckets!"

Toothless and Hiccup went to a level where they could get a good view of the village to determine the location of the escaped boar. Hiccup's scanning eyes caught sight of a small group and pointed down towards them,

"There!" he shouted, Toothless glancing down as well before roaring and diving towards them. A whistle echoed through the sky as they descended. An amethyst bolt of light escaped Toothless' mouth and shattered near the boar, turning their direction around and back towards the barn. He shot two more blasts to keep them in line, the villagers doing to the rest. They flew off once more in search of the other boars, descending down toward the docks and looping under a bridge. Flying upward again, they saw a group of boars steadily make their way towards a woman and her children crouched at the edge of the cliff. Hiccup narrowed his eyes and the two of them raced down to the rescue. One blast did the trick, the boar high tailed and ran the opposite direction, Toothless swooping down above the citizens and after the boar. The woman smiled and waved, her children doing the same.

Another blast made the boar turn right and into the barn. Two vikings were at the doors, ready to close them when all of the boars were brought back. After counting, they found the herd to be one short.

"We're missing one!" one called out.

Toothless touched down in front of the barn, both he and Hiccup looking at the entrance; Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows. A squeal came from behind them and Toothless turned around. The boar was just about to dig its tusks into Toothless' side, but Toothless grabbed a hold of them via mouth and teeth and swung around, tossing the boar into the barn. As soon as it flew by and crash landed somewhere inside, the men closed the doors and successfully latched it shut.

"Got it!" One said with a smile and a thumbs up. Hiccup sighed in relief and patted Toothless on the head. Stoick, Gobber, Gravus and Vamiera came up to him. Stoick did a quick scan of his son; seeing no injuries, he focused his attention back to the barn.

"Make sure those doors are latched tight." he ordered, the men nodding and doing what was said. He turned, facing Gravus and Vamiera, "I'm sorry about the inconvenience." he apologized.

"Dad, I have to go meet up with my friends..." Hiccup said, pointing off in the direction of the Academy. Stoick nodded and Toothless flapped his wings, ascending back up into the sky.

Stoick turned, facing Gravus and Vamiera, "I'm sorry about the inconvenience." he apologized.

"No need, Stoick." Vamiera replied with understandment.

"In fact, there is one place we'd like to visit before we leave." Gravus said, earning a look from both Stoick and Gobber. Then two men then looked at each other.

* * *

**To be continued...**

**Yeah I see this getting at least 7 chapters. The next finishing the scavenger hunt and then the conclusion. I don't know how long the conclusion will be, but I'll try to make it as long as I can possibly get it.**

**Thanks for the reviews guys! As well as the favorites/followers and readers!**


	6. Surprise Attack

**A.N.**

**Okay, this chapter was completely off the top of my head. I was having a major writer's block while writing, but pushed through it to the best of my ability. That's why I didn't update sooner.**

**Mottleflower- you're good dude, there wasn't anything wrong with your question, even though I don't actually remember it, I wasn't annoyed by anything you said.**

**Apologies for any typos I missed...**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

**Burdened Onus**

**Chapter 6**

**Surprise Attack**

* * *

Four dragons flew together in the sky above Berk. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon and the kids still had to find the last two items. They searched the twin's dark soggy alone place, thinking that would be the most logical place for the last two items to be, but unfortunately they came up empty. Scouring the skies, they searched the land scape for any more possible leads. If they couldn't find all the items, they'd have to go back home, without any treasure.

"Ugh, where could Hiccup have hidden them?!" Snotlout complained, getting tired of searching and thinking.

"I don't understand, we looked almost everywhere. Where could these last items be?" Astrid said, taking a minute to look back over the list. They got the viking totem, the charm, the book, and now all they needed was something that would spread when released and another that would illuminate in the blink of an eye.

"'Something that spreads when released...'" Snotlout read out loud.

"'And another that illuminates in the blink of an eye.'" Fishlegs read the other. They sat in silence, all three looking towards Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"What?" Tuff asked.

"Think guys!" Astrid hollered at them.

"Why do we have to do the thinking?" Ruffnut replied more calmly then Astrid.

"Yeah, you guys have been doing a good job this whole time, why can't you figure it out?" Tuffnut added.

"Because these last two items are meant for you two to find it!" Astrid argued.

"I've got an idea! Let's go ask Hiccup." Tuff suggested. Astrid slapped her forehead.

"Hiccup's the one that made the clue, you morons." Snotlout stated.

"Exactly, so he'll know where they are."

"Tuff, that's cheating and it doesn't work that way. We're suppose to find the items, not him." Astrid tried to explain.

"Why do we even bother, look who we're talking to! I'm never going to get the treasure at this rate!" Snotlout complained, waving his hand around in frustration. Fishlegs' face lite up.

"That's it!"

"What's it?" Snotlout asked, turning his head around to Fishlegs.

"You figured it out?!" Astrid asked with delight.

"Uh, maybe. Okay, listen; its Ruffnut and Tuffnut, what do they like more than anything else?"

"Their well groomed stuffed yak?" Astrid said.

"Destruction, getting in trouble, hitting each other." Snotlout numbered the list.

"I do like beating up on Tuffnut." Ruff commented.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh; I like a good rock to the face!" Tuff commented as well.

"No, well technically yes, but that's not the answer."

"Then what is it Fishlegs!" Astrid yelled.

"Barf and Belch."

The twins looked at each other, then down at their dragon's heads.

"Our dragon is the last two items?" Ruffnut questioned.

"Or maybe we need to use them to get the last two items!" Astrid concluded.

"I don't get it." said Snotlout.

"Down there!" Astrid yelled, pointing down at the trees. All of them dove down towards it. They landed at another cliff's edge, except this time, the rock wall had something painted on it. A target.

"Uh, Astrid, I don't think these last two items are _items_ persay." Fishlegs deduced.

"It's an action..." She concluded.

"Wait, you mean we get to blow something up?!" Ruffnut exclaimed joyously.

Looking over at his sister, "And we're allowed to, _suppose_ to! That's the best gift ever!" Snotlout, Astrid and Fishlegs looked at each other; having the same thoughts, they backed their dragons up.

"Barf!" "Belch!" Gas!" "Spark!" As told, Barf released his gas, soon after, Belch sparked. The blast landed dead center of the painted target, shattering the rock wall into pieces. Unbeknownst to them, a pile of gunpowder was hidden behind the rock and the blast set it off. The area exploded in a huge ball of flames, rising up into the sky like a mushroom. The shock wave knocked Ruffnut and Tuffnut off of their dragon heads; the force also reaching the other three, knocking them off as well. The dragons stumbled and fell down, but otherwise, everyone was okay.

"That... was... awesome..." Ruff stated, her and her brother smiling like no tomorrow.

"Did you feel that force?" Tuff asked.

"Yeah, did you see the fire?"

"Yeah,"

Astrid picked herself up and dusted her clothes free of dirt. Fishlegs, who was on top of Snotlout, was thrown off by the other viking and sent tumbling onto his belly; Snotlout then proceeded to get up. Astrid looked over at the twins, laughing as they high fived each other; she smiled for the gifts Hiccup gave them. It amazed her at how much he knew what they liked, but then again, he was always an observer. However, there was one thing she didn't get...

"What about the treasure?!" Snotlout grumbled with his hands balled up in fists. "Hiccup said there was treasure at the end of all this. I **do not** see anything."

Out of nowhere, a random ship falls and slams into the ground right in front of the twins. The sudden bang frightens Fishlegs to no end and he screams bloody murder. Snotlout looked at him with wide eyes, shocked to see the abridged ship, but mostly surprised that Fishlegs decided to jump into his arms. He furrowed his eye brows and dropped the husky viking onto ground. Fishlegs landed with a thud, holding his chest as he breathed in and out.

"Please tell me I wasn't the only one that got scared."

Astrid approached the ship with awestruck. "Whoa, how do you suppose this got here?"

Snotlout gasped, "I bet ya that's where the treasure is!" He dashed forward, bumping into Astrid and making her stumble, but he kept running onward. He jumped up onto the ship's deck and ran down into the its chambers.

"Oh yeah, we hit the jack pot!" Snotlout's voice echoed out. Astrid and Fishlegs looked at each other, same with Ruff and Tuff.

Down below deck, the teens met up with Snotlout, finding him digging through a pile of random, but priceless looking loot.

"Look at all of this stuff, WE'RE RICH!"

"Quickly, everybody, fill your pockets!" Tuffnut said, ready to dive into the loot.

"We don't have pockets." Ruff stated factually.

"Well then fill your mouth hole, we gotta take as much as we can."

"Why don't we just make trips." Astrid suggested.

"Oh yeah, so Fishlegs here can make do with all of the treasure while we have our backs turned." Snotlout stated unreasonably. "I don't think so." He folded his arms. Fishlegs glared at him; Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Some things never change."

* * *

**BOOM! To be CONTINUED...!**

**Sorry for this being a little late. Like I said up top, I had some writer's block. One more chapter left and this story is done. I wish there was more to add, but that's physically impossible for me right now.**

**Thank you for all of the reviews!**


	7. Dragon Riders

**A.N.**

**Well, this is the last chapter. Sorry if it's a little short, its all that was left of the plot. Hope you guys enjoyed the story! There will be more lengthy ones, but for the moment, I'll be writing some one-shots or short stories. Until Defenders of Berk September 10****th****, my stories are probably going to be humorous long one-shots. Speaking of which, ****_Anonymity_****will be posted either tomorrow or Monday, so be on the look out for it. Thank you everyone!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

**Burdened Onus**

**Chapter 7**

**Dragon Riders**

* * *

Hiccup was busing himself by covering Toothless in fish. The dragon literally looked like he was wearing a fish coat, having to stand still so none of the delicious, juicy meat would fall off the top half of him. It was rather hard for Toothless; he was extremely hungry and this was cruel and unusual punishment.

Hiccup reached his hands back into the fifth basket; all the other surrounding ones being empty. He pulled out a fish and placed it right on Toothless' forehead between the eyes.

"Alright, that's the last one." Hiccup backed up slowly, holding his hands forward, "Now, remain still until I say go. And when I say go, you're going to eat all of the fish as fast as you can, **but** you can't let any touch the ground." Toothless grumble in response. Hiccup stood beside a sun dial; waiting a few seconds until...

"Go!" Off screen, Toothless went on a feeding frenzy; small pieces of fish were flown out towards Hiccup, though none hit him. Hiccup did, however, shield his face in case any hit him, closing his eyes until he heard Toothless' chomping settle down. Once it did, he looked over and saw the Night Fury sitting on his butt and chewing a fish in his mouth, the fish tail hanging out and flopping around from Toothless' chewing. All around him were little teed-bits of left over fish; some tails, some fins, one head...

Toothless swallowed his little cod whole and smiled. Hiccup giggled.

A Nadder's roar caught his attention and while looking up at the sky, he saw his friends return. He prepared himself for a rant and possible a dozen threats from Snotlout about the treasure. Walking over towards the entrance, they all came in and landed in front of him near the middle of the arena. He noticed their unusually large inventory and furrowed his eye brows.

"Whaa—is this?" he asked, utterly confused.

"The treasure." Astrid answered with a delighted smile. She jumped off of Stormfly, as the rest did, and walked up to Hiccup. "I can't believe you actually had treasure at the end of all this; I thought the treasure was just the items that you gifted to us seeing how they were hidden specifically for our individuality to find."

"But tha—I wa—its not—what?" He studdered. "Where did you find all of..._this_?"

"It fell out of the sky." Astrid didn't understand what Hiccup was confused about.

Hiccup had his eyes squinted and head tilted slightly to the right. His eyes jerked to the right then up at the sky. Now confusion was an understatement for him. Snotlout came over and wrapped his arm around Hiccup's shoulder. He was decked out with a ton of silver and gold necklaces, a couple of bracelets and one gold jeweled ring.

"You my friend have just moved from being my arch enemy to my nemesis!" Snotlout "promoted" him. Hiccup unwrapped Snotlout's arm from his shoulder.

"Snotlout, that's the same thing, and we're **not** arch enemies."

"Still, I was seriously starting to think that you were lying to us."

"Metaphorically yeah; guys there wasn't suppose to be any treasure, I was meant to be the items you were to find. I had to come up with a way to keep you three out of the village so you don't cause trouble and mess up the meeting we had with the Meatheads. I had Fishlegs and Astrid go with you so you guys did mess up or come back sooner than what I needed." Hiccup explained.

"Wait, so you _did_ lie to us?" Snotlout asked.

"Really, that's all you got out of that?" Hiccup criticized.

"So if there wasn't suppose to be treasure, then, what did we find?" Astrid asked.

"Uh, treasure." Ruffnut replied, though she wasn't entirely sure.

"Wait, so if you didn't put the ship there," Snotlout pointed to Hiccup; "then that means we found it on accident, which means I can still claim all of it!" He ran over to Hookfang, "Come on Hookfang, time is money!" The two flew out with haste.

"Hey!" the twins shouted, hopping onto their dragon. "That treasure is ours, we were the ones who blew it out of the rock!" They too raced for the gold. Fishlegs and Meatlug watched them take off.

Hiccup looked at Fishlegs and noticed he had the book clutched in his hands, as well as some artifacts in his lap—not as much as Snotlout's and the twin's though. Looking at Astrid, she had nothing on her.

"Why don't you have some of the treasure?" Hiccup asked.

"I've already got my treasure." She held up the little rose pendant and smiled.

Hiccup began to laugh nervously, blushing a bit and rubbing his neck. "So you _did_ find that."

"Mmmhmm." Astrid replied while staring at her jewel, memorized. All of a sudden, she kissed him on the lips before bringing him into a hug. "And I love it."

From the top of the ring, Stoick, Gravus, Vamiera and Gobber watched the scene unfold. They were all smiling, but none were as loving as Stoick's.

Gravus turned to him, "You've got a good thing going on here. None of us would have ever believed the dragons to be helpful, but your boy changed that. He's something history doesn't have enough of. I am honored to be your ally." Gobber opened the peace treaty and handed Gravus a charcoal pencil. He signed it, then gave the pencil to his wife who also signed.

"Take care friend." Stoick said, shaking Gravus' hand.

"You too."

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**The END**

**THANK YOU ALL AND GOODNIGHT**


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